Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
Loading
JA![]()
author
Jonathan F Awasom
Jonathan Awasom is a survivor of bullying and abuse. He found solace and healing after many years of bullying and abuse through moral fables his grandfather shared with him when he was in elementar...view moreJonathan Awasom is a survivor of bullying and abuse. He found solace and healing after many years of bullying and abuse through moral fables his grandfather shared with him when he was in elementary school in Cameroon. The stories reminded him about never giving up but to stand tall in the face of any adversity and to fight back wisely, courageously, kindly and with a purpose. His motivation to advocate for a virtuous and free society stems from the injustice of the totalitarian political system, which obviously enabled abuse and exploitation of the downtrodden. He believes that the rule of law, a change of heart and mind set of people could go a long way towards solving some of these problems.
He was born and raised in Mankon-Alabukam, Bamenda in the North West Region of Cameroon to his parents Grace and Samuel Awasom along with seven other siblings; three ladies and four guys. He came to the United States 12 years ago as a Religious Missionary through Presbyterian Homes and Services. He later filed for political asylum when it turned out that he was a victim of trafficking (abused) for the wrong reasons. Before he left Cameroon, he was being persecuted by the Synod Officials of the Presbyterian Church and the Cameroon totalitarian political establishment for his free speech, beliefs and ideas as a young visionary Youth Pastor and leader in the Church and community.
He holds a BA in Theology from the Protestant Faculty of Theology, Yaoundé, Cameroon, an MA in Religion and Theology from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, MN, USA and currently, he is pursuing an MA in Law and Governance: Conflict Management and Peace Studies at the Montclair State University in New Jersey, USA. He was formerly a resident of Minnesota from 2000-2009 when he relocated to New Jersey and has been resident there since 2009. He was ordained as a Minister of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon in 1997 and when he wrote 100 theses to reform the church in 1999 with emphasis on social justice following his dissertation on "Ethics of Human Welfare" he was dismissed from the church for his vision, ideas and free speech but today his ideas are being implemented in the Church in Cameroon.
While in a Presbyterian boarding school known as Presbyterian Secondary School Mankon( Pss Mankon) between 1983 and 1986, he was amongst many students bullied and abused by senior students and the Principal. Unfortunately, the abuse was enabled by the Principal who took school discipline to a whole new level as a personal weapon to unfairly target children of a peculiar background mostly those whose parents were considered less important .He claimed to be a disciplinarian but that was an excuse to conspire with children of the "corrupt" ruling class and powerful in society to abuse those of us whom they erroneously thought came from "less privileged" backgrounds but it was unacceptable.Even though our paths crossed in one of the presumed prestigious boarding schools in our society, the truth is bullying and abuse of girls by some boys was lurking and too rampant. When he began to suffer abuse, he decided to speak up and defended some of the victims especially female students to the extent, which he suffered retaliation with all sorts of name calling from the perpetrators. Yet, he neither bowed to the Principal nor to the senior students and any of the guys.
He stood up for himself. He confronted them and also wrote protest letters on his behalf and other victims of bullying and abuse by the senior students!
Bullying and abuse took a huge psychological toll on him to the point where he failed to make it to the next class whereas he started as a very bright student. Even though the perpetrators have never been held accountable since Cameroon society was primitive and did not pay attention to such ills , the fact is, he always put up a fight against bullying, abuse and injustice even if he knew winning was far fetched. In that way, he would protest against bview less
Books by Jonathan F Awasom
Selfless and Heartless Pursuits: Stories About 4 Animals ,Birds and the Moon for the Reflection of Families, Children and Students